Warm day, but with nice S breezes it didn’t feel as hot as yesterday.
Light, but inconsistent SE winds didn’t help the flight much at 6-11kph.
Visibility was good again like yesterday with views to Stone Mountain
during the entire count. Mostly high cirrus clouds to begin the count, but
these burned off by 11:00. By noon a few low cumulus clouds drifted in from
the SW, but most burned up as the pushed over the ridge. Low temperature of
17C at 08:30 and a high of 30C by 15:00.
Raptor Notes
TV 2 (286) OS 2 (80) BE 5 (123) SS 4 (226) CH 2 (52) RS 1 (46) BW 11 (1470)
RT 1 (314) UR 1 (42) Total 29 (2944)
Another slow day at the cut. The flight looked promising in the 10:00 hour
with BW’s getting moving and a few SS’s. However, by 11:00 the flight had
slowed to a trickle for the rest of the day.
Another BW exhibiting resident behavior was detected at 09:36 with a few
primaries missing. At 09:59 the immature RT flew S along the ridge top. At
11:37 a BW parachuted down onto Leading Ridge to perch in the forest. At
13:18 the SS flew S through cut below the canopy of the forest.
Non-raptor Notes
Several nice size flocks of BLJA migrating through. They seem to stage
together before venturing across the cut which is interesting.
Mourning Dove 3
Chimney Swift 1
Double-crested Cormorant 9
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 11
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 54
American Crow 1
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
House Finch 1
Purple Finch 3
American Goldfinch 5
Field Sparrow 2
Eastern Towhee 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Common Grackle 8
Ovenbird 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 10
Visitors
Jon Kauffman came out to take the sign down. I visited with a nice family
from DE who had spent the morning down at Shavers Creek. I was happy they
got to see a BW while up at the cut.
Jon Kauffman
5 hikers
Next Day Forecast
Showers likely, mainly after 2pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 74.
Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of
precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an
inch possible.
